kristianschmidt

About a month ago, photographers Shawn Heinrichs and Kristian Schmidt's revolutionary whale shark fashion/conservation shoot went viral on the internet -- using incredible photography to draw attention to the plight of the whale shark.

Following in the footsteps of that project, Heinrichs and Schmidt teamed up again, this time putting together a mesmerizing set of photographs alongside the above video as part of the conservation effort Manta Ray of Hope.

The photograph above may look like some kind of imaginary scene conjured up by a Photoshop wizard, but it's an actual photograph showing a real model swimming with a real whale shark.

Photographers Shawn Heinrichs and Kristian Schmidt carried out the "revolutionary fashion shoot" recently off the coast of the Philippines, creating a set of fashion photos that are unlike any we've seen before.